Description
The Rippaverse is FINALLY here and Isom #1 is the perfect comic book to launch it. Written by the founder of Rippaverse Publishing, Eric July, this book not only serves as the beginnings of a new character, but also as a launching pad for what will inevitably be an ever-expanding comic book universe. With pencil and ink work from industry veteran Cliff Richards and color-work from Gabe Eltaeb, this book could only be an intriguing, explosive experience. Letterer Eric Weathers applied his undeniable touch to help bring this 96-page book to life. So, what is it all about?
Story
Avery Silman was once an entry-level hero known as Isom in the city of Florespark, Texas shortly after gaining his special abilities. A certain event had him hang up his suit, and now he stays on the outskirts of the city, living as a rancher.
Avery’s sister, Altona, gives him a call and wants him to visit an old friend by the name of Darren Fontaino. Another family friend that was interning with Altona has gone missing and she last heard that she was dealing with Darren. But Darren has much changed since he was hanging out with Avery when they were young. He’s a cold-blooded shot-caller and one of the most feared men in the city.
This visit turns into one of the longest days in Avery’s life. Around these parts, people call ‘special beings’ Excepts. And unfortunately for Avery, he has the luxury of running into some of them. The Alphacore and Yaira have their own set of conflicts. A man built like a tank by the name of Santwan reappears and he’s had previous confrontation with Avery. So what happens with Avery and Darren’s meeting? Who and where is the family friend? Just grab Isom #1: Ill-Advised Pt. 1 and find out for yourself!
Campaign Items
There are various items that you can purchase throughout the duration of the campaign. You can save money if you bundle them together with our various packages. But get them while you can. Some items are limited in quantity while others are only unique to this campaign. Here’s all that we have available for you:
- ISOM #1, COVER A:
The 96-page book with Ternion’s beautiful cover. This item will no longer be available after 27k sold. All books are bagged and boarded.
- ISOM #1, COVER B:
The 96-page book with Cliff Richards’ awesome cover. This item will no longer be available after 17k sold. All books are bagged and boarded.
- ISOM #1, COVER C:
The 96-page book with the cover to be released this week. All books are bagged and boarded.
- ISOM #1, COVER A (SIGNED):
A signed (by Eric July) version of the 96-page book with Ternion’s cover.
- ISOM #1, COVER B (SIGNED):
A signed (by Eric July) version of the 96-page book with Cliff Richards’ cover.
- ISOM #1, COVER C (SIGNED):
A signed (by Eric July) version of the 96-page book with the cover to be released this week.
- ISOM POSTER:
24 x 36 sized poster of Isom with artwork done by Bruno Abdias. This poster is rolled and shipped in a tube to limit creases.
- YAIRA POSTER:
24 x 36 sized poster of Yaira with artwork done by Bruno Abdias. This poster is rolled and shipped in a tube to limit creases.
- ISOM SHIRT:
Sand-colored shirt with Isom on the front of it. This is available on many sizes.
- RIPPAVERSE SHIRT:
Heather-gray colored shirt with various characters that were introduced in Isom #1.
- DOKUMAAN CARDS *CAMPAIGN EXCLUSIVE*:
Deck of 11 cards by the mysterious Dokumaan. These cards are much larger than standard-sized trading cards AND have lenticular treatment. These are a campaign-exclusive item which means they will only be sold during the campaign window. These cards are 5in x 6.9in.
- CONCEPT ART BOOK *LIMITED QUANTITY*:
Book that details the creation of various characters that were introduced in Isom #1. See the original designs of the important characters and read up on the significant details. There will ONLY ever be 2,000 of these printed.
INTERIORS
Enjoy some interiors from the book:
Mark Skrzyniarz (verified owner) –
WOW!
I love this book!
What does everybody else think?
…
Wait, nobody has posted a review of Isom #1 onto Rippaverse.com?
Somebody gonna?
…
Alright, I’ll do it myself.
I am Mark Skrzyniarz, random prognosticator, and this is my review of Isom #1.
*WARNING: SPOILERS*
Isom #1 is, as writer Eric July (who’s also founder and owner of the Rippaverse) has stated, the introduction to the title character Isom (from the Old English for “homestead on the River Ise”) and the launching point for the Rippaverse comic book universe, on top of just being a well-drawn comic book and entertaining story that in turn serves to begin a new story arc, and so it is upon these metrics that this book shall be judged.
First up, how well does it introduce Isom – real name Avery Silman – and how well does it establish him as a likeable character?
To that, the answer is a resounding yes.
In fact, this issue accomplishes this in just the first four pages we get of the character, in which we witness his physical fighting style, caring but prideful nature, his current position as a businessman and the mystery of a past that drove him out of the city of Florespark, TX that he very reluctantly returns to at the prompting of his sister Altona (who appears to be head of her own company, Projexus) for the sake of an intern named Jasmine who went missing
Every subsequent interaction with the other characters only serve to highlight and flesh out his different characteristics, while each get enough time to be shown to have hidden depths of their own, from his brilliant niece Vassie to the as-yet-unnamed superhero-costume designing owner of a shop called Taylorsville, who both bring out his love and dedication to those he cares about.
This includes the antagonists, the arrogant owner of Club Merq, Darren (of no last name), who is also a major shot-caller in the city’s underworld, and Santwan, a mercenary Except (superhuman) employed at Club Merq as security with both a history with Isom and ideas regarding fate, who bring out his very bullheaded and stubborn pride.
All in all, by the end of the issue, one cannot help but root for Isom, and eagerly await seeing him again in the next issue.
As to introducing the wider Rippaverse, the reader is given a very teasing yet insightful peek into what awaits them in other storylines.
Yaira in particular gets featured prominently, as her appearance actually gets set up in the very first three pages of the issue before we get introduced to Isom himself, and she gets very quickly established as someone just as if not more brash than Isom himself, by fighting police (who she easily handles), a group of official superheroes in the Alphacore (who handle her), and even Isom himself due to a misunderstanding born of a midair collision (who she drops from high-up onto a cab).
The fight between Yaira and Isom also serves the purpose of establishing that in the Rippaverse’s power rankings, Isom is very clearly no Superman in either power set or power level, nor is Yaira, or probably even the AlphaCore, even if does establish where each of them fall relative to each other.
Moreover, the seeds of a larger story is set up by two different pairs of characters in the issue who appear appear to be either adjacent or outside the present arc: the first are a man and woman in the back rooms of the Club Merq, a man with glowing green eyes with preternatural sight of as-yet undisclosed nature, and a woman who can conjure a purple orb of unknown purpose, who seek power of some sort over the wealthy and powerful of Florespark; the second are part of a band called Norfrica (appears a conjunction of Norse and Africa, based on the character designs), who also sport blue glowing eyes and a conjurable bow or a green glowing aura and orb while speaking ominously of angels, demons, and an unwinnable war.
(*Yaira’s eyes also glow blue – is there a connection here, and is there a difference between those with glowing eyes and Excepts, are they the same or confused to be the same?*)
Then finally are hints of a mysterious Dokumaan, who doesn’t appear in the comic in person and is only mentioned in the afterword of the issue, but whose presence hangs over the Rippaverse in videos and trading cards.
In short, the wider Rippaverse looks VERY interesting.
Thus, the comic very clearly succeeds in establishing both Isom and the Rippaverse.
But how does it stand on its own, as Isom #1: Part 1 of Ill-Advised, and as a comic book?
Very well, but not perfectly.
The story starts off in a pretty straightforward fashion, as Avery Silman gets called by his sister Altona to find an intern named who didn’t show up to work, and the only clue she has is a man from both of their pasts named Darren (of no last name), who turns out to be an underworld kingpin operating under the guise of the affluent owner of Club Merq.
After Darren (of no last name) uses their shared history to disrespect Avery, our protagonist decides to return the favor and lay into his men, showing off his superhuman strength in the process, only to get thrown out by an Except named Santwan, crashing into Yaira (who appears to have gotten thrown away by the Alphacore), who proceeds to beat him thanks to the fact that she can fly and he can’t.
After getting taken to the hospital, it’s revealed that he may not in fact be an Except in spite of his strength right before the reveal he escaped, before signaling Altona to pick him up so he can recover and regroup.
While this goes on, his ranch is managed by his right hand man Sam (better not be Gamgee, don’t want the Tolkien Estate suing the Rippaverse), who works a later shift with an unnamed young hand, and responds to an as-yet undisclosed situation in a barn with a gun in hand.
Then he returns to Club Merq, where he finds Jasmine and finds out she appears to be in trouble, before going on to Round 2 with its security and Santwan, who he defeats this time, before the police force him to run.
He goes to Altona’s house to stay the night, where he recuperates from his fight, reunites with his niece Vassie (who believes him to be superhuman thanks to careful observation), and learns there may be more to Jasmine’s situation than mere exploitation.
His actions, however, prompt Darren (of no last name) to put a target on the back of both him and his loved ones for the sake of preserving his spot at the top of the city underworld.
Avery Silman’s part in the story wraps up with a trip to a shop called Taylorsville, where he meets a man in the superhero costume business, who’s grown from a small shop to a veritable business empire with access to clients and resources from around the world and beyond.
There, he gets back his old suit, and reassumes his old superhero identity of Isom.
The story is simple and easy to follow, with obvious threads being dangled to keep readers hooked on what happens next, along with hints at the further depths and scope of the arc to follow.
It’s not Crime and Punishment, but it’s a very good and promising start to this story.
Now to the actual art and coloring that are the signature of a comic book – and bear with me, because this is going to be the weakest part of the review.
I certainly can’t and won’t say that Cliff Richards and Gabe Eltaeb are on par with the likes of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Moebius, or Kentaro Miuro – but I can and will say that their art is definitely in the upper tier of modern comic book artists.
The characters are all very clearly realized and always front and center in more than realistic enough detail to capture how they stand, walk, posture and fight – though sometimes to the detriment of the environment around them, which can range from detailed to vague to nonexistent (though in the last case for the purpose of highlighting epic encounters between characters).
The gore from some of the fights is rather cartoony in its portrayal, and because of how sporadic it is, that only makes it more apparent.
In particular, one gripe that I know I’m not alone in having is that there is a great splash page of Avery and Santwan coming at each other ready to strike, before skipping the moment where they hit each other to the moment where they’re skidding away – a second splash page showing the blows connecting would have been amazing.
Still, Cliff Richards does a very good job drawing the characters and Gabe Eltaeb gets top marks for his color work, and any nitpicks I have with their art are just that – nitpicks.
In summary, Isom #1 has indeed accomplished everything it set out to do:
Introduce the world to Isom, launch the Rippaverse, and tell a good, entertaining story with quality artwork.
And it’s only because of a few small issues that I’m not giving Isom #1 a perfect score.
Four stars out of five.
Jokerthefool (verified owner) –
This is a classic comic book. Being the start of a larger story it will leave you wanting more and can be a little unsatisfying and hard to read for some but give it a chance and I think you’ll really like it. The art pops off the page and the paper and book quality are as top notch as they can for a Trade paperback. This book sets up and clues us in to so much so the real achievement of Isom #1 is all the doors it opens in the Rippaverse. Can’t wait to see what’s in store!
Christopher Davis (verified owner) –
Pretty good start so far, I’m new to comics but I already like the character, I have cover a and b. My only issue is there wasn’t more super power characters but I’m sure it will build up as we go and more detail in the background please, and cooler looking background, other than that liking it lot, can’t wait to read cover C.
Gwendolyn Newell (verified owner) –
This was INCREDIBLE!!! I’m not much of a comic reader but I couldn’t put this down – and now on my third slow read. The artwork is awesome – everything practically just snaps off the page and skims the edge of reality. Can hardly wait for the next one…. and the next one…. and etc., etc.!!! Also, loved Mr. July’s interview with the Babylon Bee people. THIS IS SO……. GREAT!!! (words are just not adequate.)